The Body Farm Novels

The most riveting and ambitious novel to date in Jefferson Bass's New York Times bestselling Body Farm mystery series, The Inquisitor's Key takes forensic investigator Dr. Bill Brockton to Avignon, France — the spectacular seat of the popes in the 14th century — and embroils him in a deadly religious mystery that could shake the Vatican itself to its very foundations. Another sterling crime novel in the vein of Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, and Karin Slaughter — as well as TV's C.S.I. and Bones — The Inquisitor's Key starts with the trademark Jefferson Bass mix of suspense, surprise, and finely detailed forensic investigation, then adds a touch of James Rollins action, Da Vinci Code scope, and Girl with a Pearl Earring lushness. Set against an international landscape, and weaving a rich tapestry of suspense, religion, history, art and science, The Inquisitor's Key takes Jefferson Bass readers to an exciting new level of suspense.

"A superb mystery novel-well-plotted, filled with memorable characters, based on accurate forensic science and written with more flair and literary sensibility than anything by John Grisham."
—Charlotte Observer on The Devil's Bones

The United Kingdom edition: same great story as The Inquisitor's Key, highbrow British title!

"If you want to know what an autopsy theater really looks like, if you want to learn how to tell a skull's ethnic background by studying its teeth or how embalming works, Jefferson and Bass can tell you... Their books are well worth digging up."
—Wilmington Star-News on The Bone Thief

"This series, written by forensic anthropologist Bass (the creator of the real Body Farm in Tennessee) and Jefferson, just keeps getting better."
—Booklist on Bones of Betrayal

Early summer brings warm weather to the Body Farm in East Tennessee, but Dr. Bill Brockton's about to get more heat than he's bargained for. Angie St. Claire, a former student who's now a forensic specialist with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, seeks his help in identifying a partial skull found in the woods in rural Florida. The victim, a child, appears to have died from a lethal blow to the head. Brockton and Angie's search for the remaining bones leads to a notorious reform school, where boys lived under constant threat of being beaten... and of being buried in "the bone yard." As Brockton and his team close in on the truth, they find skeletons in some surprisingly prominent closets — and learn that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth hidden. Despite the danger, Brockton knows he must expose the school's horrors... and speak for boys who have been silenced far too long.

"The Body Farm novels get better with each new book."
— Booklist review of The Bone Thief

Publication date March 23, 2010
William Morrow
Hardcover, $24.99
ISBN: 0061284769Buy the Book

Dr. Bill Brockton has been called in on a seemingly routine case, to exhume a body and obtain a bone sample for a DNA paternity test. But when the coffin is opened, Brockton and his colleagues, including his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady, are stunned to see that the corpse has been horribly violated.

Brockton’s initial shock gives way to astonishment as he uncovers a flourishing and lucrative black market in body parts. At the center of this ghoulish empire is a daring and prosperous grave robber. Soon Brockton finds himself drawn into the dangerous enterprise when the FBI recruits him to bring down the postmortem chop shop—using corpses from the Body Farm as bait in an undercover sting operation.

Publication date February 3, 2009
William Morrow
Hardcover, $24.99
ISBN: 0061284742Buy the Book

Dr. Bill Brockton is in the middle of a nuclear-terrorism disaster drill when he receives an urgent call from the nearby town of Oak Ridge — better known as Atomic City, home of the Bomb, and the key site for the Manhattan Project during World War II. Although more than sixty years have passed, could repercussions from that dangerous time still be felt today?

Publication date February 5, 2008
William Morrow
Hardcover, $24.95
ISBN: 0060759852Buy the Book

A woman's charred body has been found inside a burned car perched atop a hill in Knoxville. Is it accidental death, or murder followed by arson? Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton's quest for answers prompts an experiment straight from Dante's Inferno: In the dark of night, he puts bodies to the torch, researching how fire consumes flesh and bone.

"Entertaining...fascinating forensics..."
— Publishers Weekly

"Razor sharp ... Fans of forensic fiction will want to add this author to their list of favorites."
—Booklist

Publication date January 23, 2007
William Morrow
Hardcover, $24.95
ISBN: 0060759836Buy the Book

Dr. Bill Brockton, the founder of the world-famous Body Farm, is hard at work on a troubling new case. A young man's battered body has been found in nearby Chattanooga, and it's up to the talented Dr. Brockton to assemble the pieces of the forensic puzzle.

Publication date December 26, 2006
William Morrow
Paperback, $7.99
ISBN: 0060759828Buy the Book

There is a patch of ground in Tennessee dedicated to the science of death, where human remains lie exposed to be studied for their secrets. The real-life scientist who founded the "Body Farm" has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics . . . and now he spins an astonishing tale inspired by his own experiences.